Motorola's got a special New Year's treat for prospective buyers of the Moto X: a huge price drop for those who are willing to go off-contract. The unsubsidized version of the Moto X sold on the Moto Maker customization site is now just $399.99, down $100 from its previous price. You can pick up the larger 32GB model for $449.99. The on-contract versions remain $99.99 on the Moto Maker site, though you can probably find the more drab black or white alternatives for less.

Even more exciting, the developer editions of the Moto X have also been given a price cut, down to $449.99 to match their 32GB Moto Maker cousins. That means that Verizon and AT&T customers who want the GSM or CDMA versions of the phone but also want access to easy root and custom ROMs have a relatively inexpensive way to get in on the action. Incidentally, the 32GB Verizon developer edition is now just $50 more expensive than the 32GB Nexus 5, making it a pretty good alternative since the latter isn't available on the CDMA carrier. Sprint and T-Mobile versions of the Moto X can be bootloader unlocked without a developer edition.

This price cut comes a little over a month after Moto set the Internet on fire with its $150 off Cyber Monday deal which made the phone $349.99 for off-contract buyers (not to mention the recent price drops for the developer phones). The new price isn't quite that great, but it also isn't going anywhere, and the Moto Maker servers probably won't buckle under the load. Even so, shipping time is likely to jump up later today after an influx of new buyers, so get your order in soon if you want one.

Just in case you were wondering, the bamboo backs still carry a $100 premium, and there has been no discount on the Verizon DROID MAXX Developer Edition.

Comments

Now we're talking! I only wish the cut was applied in my country too :(

WarRaven

Plus 1.
Plus one more for making me see that mental image in printed word.

Luka Mlinar

Finally they dropped the price to what it's actually worth. I feel sorry for the people who bought it for 630$. Anyhoo; still a worthless phone if your native language isn't English.

Sean Royce

What are you talking about? It's a perfect phone regardless if you speak English or not.

mgamerz

I think he means the voice controls.

Luka Mlinar

Considering it's a "one and a half" trick pony. The one being voice control. That aside it's a overpriced dual core 720P phone.

Justin W

Still a lag-free experience, which is more than my Note 3 had going for it. Not once have I thought "I wish I got a quad core or S800 instead of this dual core device" - there literally is no need for that much power in my mobile device.

Luka Mlinar

That's all good and well but you still over payed that phone :D
I mean a Dacia runs flawlessly but no one in their right mind would pay 40K for it :D

SorinDobrin

What's a Dacia ?

Luka Mlinar

A really cheap car.

Justin W

We're all overpaying for phones right now, except those getting the Moto G. That's a damn good phone for a damn good price.

Ryan

Specs aren't everything, but if that's one's grudge against this phone, then that's their prerogative. Motorola appears to be proving a point that its not the shear specs that make the phone fast and snappy (though it does have a hand in it, sure), but its optimizations that a company takes to make all the hardware working together in specific manners that even a dual-core can perform almost as well as a quad-core.

I, and many others, don't care about screen size either. Personally, I couldn't care less if the screen was 720p, or 1080p, or hell, it can be in 1440p for all I freakin' care. But when one thinks about it, the human eye can not discern such detail without having to squint so close to the phone to even see the most minute detail.

So far though, I have not seen any major complaints about the Moto X. Just a bunch of die-hard android fanatics that can't get over this stupid "spec war" crap.

Luka Mlinar

They did some things right and optimization was one of them but they are doing so many things wrong.
As far as "human eye can not discern such detail", this is not true.
-They overpriced it considering whats in it. It's as simple as that.
The G was one of the best things that rolled out of 2013. Not even Samsung can make all their phones satify every costumer but at least they make more than 2 phones a year. That's what Motorola did in a years time. 2 phones. And i am yet to see one that can compete with the G2/One/S4..........

Gabernasher

So the DROID line didn't get a Moto refresh? Glad you're rewriting history.

Dillon Shepherd

What...?

I think simplifying their product line was a brilliant move. How are they supposed to stand out in a saturated market ruled by Samsung and Apple if they don't spend their time and resources on making a few really good phones at the right price point.

Quality over quantity, my friend

lackGX

yeah i feel sorry for people who buy S4 and iphone for that price... its actual worth is $220

sourabh sekhar

Good job MOTO.
This is how phones should be priced.
Now get those phones to other countries.

A rather naive question (coming from someone currently on Verizon): If I buy an AT&T or T-Mobile version, could I use this internationally? I'm moving to France in a couple months and would love to use this phone on Orange...

Justin W

You may be able to - I'm not familiar with Orange's wireless bands, but they are a GSM carrier so as long as you verify the bands they use for 2G, 3G, HSPA+ and LTE, you should be able to use either the T-Mo or AT&T version. Also, you may not get LTE - IIRC AT&T uses AWS which isn't a common band outside of the US.

enoch861

Yes. Just unlock it and go.
Make sure you do cross refrence the bands that Orange uses with the bands that AT&T or T-Mobile versions support..

Guest123

doubtful. . . you will need to make sure you have the proper frequency support, which the US carriers are generally different.

ProductFRED

It week definitely work for everything except LTE.

z0phi3l

Still overpriced compared to the superior in every possibles ways N5 that I would love to own

Severo Rivera

Well I would say superior in every way except battery life and the excellent form factor.

Chris

Just plugged my charger in on my N5 @ 11%. 1d 16h with 3h on screen. The battery isn't as bad as people make it out to be.

Gabernasher

The X has better battery life, not really debatable.

Chris

I'm sure it is. And I don't remember debating anything?

WestSiide

I get similar battery life outta my N4. The only ones that complain about battery life are the ones that spend their faces glued to their phones with nothing better to do. I find battery life to be sufficient to get me though at least a minimum of one day.

Guest123

you don't own either but somehow you know which is superior? impressive!

Larizard

i owned both for a week, and really noticed the difference in screen sharpness. Also, multi taskng (swiching apps) on the Moto X had a little jankiness to it. My OCD couldn't stand the weird gap in the WiFi icon on the notification bar, coupled with the obnoxious "4G LTE" icon by Verizon.

The camera doesn't seem to have a live view of the viewfinder when in the film strip gallery mode. Battery life was definitely better on the Moto X, although I personally am tied to my desk all day at work anyway, it did not matter much to me.

I decided to return the Moto X (phone support was excellent btw) and stick with the Nexus.

DJ SPY

When your Nexus 5's battery life dies I'll still be enjoying my Moto X for a while longer :)

WestSiide

For those rare moments, a powerbank gets the job done.

Rob

Too little too late. And the 32GB is STILL too expensive. I've got the N5, and it's just perfect.

Guest123

N5 = perfect . . . . . oh, that's precious! lol

sa

N5 is most boring phone

Rob

If that's your opinion, then fine. I respect it. My experiences with the N5 have been that it does what I need it to do. It's also unlocked and carrier free which also meets my needs. At the time I was considering what my next Android phone would be, I had narrowed my choices down to the N5 and the MotoX, but the MotoX was more expensive and on the network I would be using it (T-Mobile) it was far more expensive than a comparably equipped N5. It's all about choice and the freedom to make those choices. Too bad so many folks commenting in these forums fail to understand or respect that.

Rob

13 DOWN VOTES? Really, people?

Chris

This is freaking epic

loonz123

If it was that price in the first place Motorola would have gotten the tech crowd behind it and sold more phones. I would have recommended it to my not so tech proficient family and friends had the price been lower.

Jordan VanCampen

I'm incredibly happy with my moto x. I got mine when it was on sale for $350.

Zaatour36

Again, why would I buy this over a Nexus 5??

dan

Because Verizoners don't have the choice of a N5?

Zaatour36

Moto G?

bprichard

You should buy this if you like Motorola's customizations, you like the personalization options, or you like a slightly better battery.

They're both great phones. I have a Nexus 5 and have played around with the Moto X a bit, and I'd be happy with either.

Wyatt Neal

or if you want a slighly smaller phone ... but I love my N5 even after playing with the Moto X

Mystery Man

Please make note sized device so I can switch to switch

FunkyMonkey

Wish it was available in Canada, NOT FROM ROGERS

crackers8199

am i missing something? did they really bump the price of the developer edition back up to $549?

Marat Sharafutdinov

Could anybody help me? I'm from Russia & really want to buy Moto x Developer Edition. But Motorola doesn't sell it's phones abroad. How could i buy this phone? Thanks.